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| Purpose
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3. The purpose of this Act is to provide
Canadians with a right of privacy with respect
to their health information at all times when it
is collected, stored, used, accessed or
disclosed and to provide sufficient protection
of that privacy, by means that may have to be
reviewed from time to time, recognizing that
changes in technology increasingly facilitate
the collection, linkage and use of health
information for purposes other than the direct
provision of a therapeutic benefit to an
individual patient.
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| Application
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4. (1) This Act applies to
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(a) any person that collects, uses, accesses
or discloses health information in
connection with the operation of a federal
work, undertaking or business or any matter
of public administration within the
jurisdiction of Parliament; and
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(b) any person that collects, uses, accesses
or discloses health information
interprovincially or internationally.
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| Crown bound
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(2) This Act binds the Crown.
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| Exception
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(3) This Act does not apply to an individual
in respect of health information related to the
individual's spouse or dependent children that
the individual collects or uses for personal or
domestic purposes.
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| Compliance
with
obligations
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5. Every person and organization to whom
this Act applies shall comply with the
obligations set out in Schedule.
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| Complaints
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6. (1) Any individual may file with the
Commissioner a written complaint against a
person, including, for greater certainty, Her
Majesty in right of Canada, if the individual
has reason to believe the person has
contravened a provision of this Act or the
Schedule.
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| Notice
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(2) The Commissioner shall give notice of
a complaint to the person against whom the
complaint was made.
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| Preliminary
inquiry
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(3) If, after making preliminary inquiries in
respect of a complaint, the Commissioner
concludes that no contravention of this Act or
the Schedule has occurred, the Commissioner
shall so advise the complainant and the person
against whom the complaint was made, in
writing, giving reasons for the conclusion.
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| Commissioner
conducts
inquiry
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7. If the Commissioner receives a
complaint under subsection 6(1) and does not
reach a conclusion under subsection 6(3), or if
the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to
believe that a person is contravening a
provision of this Act or the Schedule, the
Commissioner may conduct an inquiry into
the health information management practices
of the person.
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| Powers of
Commissioner
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8. In carrying out an inquiry under section
7, the Commissioner has the same powers,
responsibilities and protection as when
carrying out an investigation under the
Privacy Act, with the necessary
modifications.
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| Testimony
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9. No person shall be excused from
complying with an order of the Commissioner
to provide on the ground that the testimony,
record or other thing or return required of the
person may tend to incriminate them or
subject them to any proceeding or penalty
under this Act or any other Act, but no
testimony given to the Commissioner by an
individual shall be used or received against
that individual, other than for a prosecution
under section 131 (perjury) or section 136
(witness giving contradictory evidence) of the
Criminal Code.
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| Report by
Commissioner
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10. After an inquiry, the Commissioner
shall provide the individual who made the
complaint and the person against whom the
complaint was made, a report of
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(a) the Commissioner's findings and
recommendations; and
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(b) if appropriate, a request that the person
give the Commissioner, within a specified
time, notice of any action taken or proposed
to be taken to implement any
recommendations contained in the report or
reasons why no such action has been or will
be taken.
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| Application
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11. (1) The Commissioner may apply to the
Court for a hearing in respect of any matter in
respect of the inquiry or the report made under
section 10.
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| Time of
application
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(2) The application must be made within
forty-five days after the report is sent or within
any further time that the Court may, either
before or after the expiry of those forty-five
days, allow.
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| Summary
procedure
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12. An application made under section 11
shall be heard and determined without delay
and in a summary way unless the Court
considers it inappropriate to do so.
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| Remedies
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13. The Court may, in addition to any other
remedies it may give,
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(a) order the person or any other person to
correct its practices in order to comply with
the Schedule; or
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(b) order the person or any other person to
publish a notice of any action taken or
proposed to be taken to correct its practices,
whether or not ordered to correct them
under paragraph (a).
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| Confidentialit
y
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14. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), the
Commissioner or any person acting on behalf
or under the direction of the Commissioner
shall not disclose any information that comes
to their knowledge as a result of the
performance or exercise of any of the
Commissioner's duties or powers under this
Act.
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| Public interest
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(2) The Commissioner may make public
any information relating to the health
information management practices of an
organization if the Commissioner considers it
is in the public interest to do so.
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| Disclosure of
necessary
information
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(3) The Commissioner may disclose, or
may authorize any person acting on behalf or
under the direction of the Commissioner to
disclose, information that in the
Commissioner's opinion is necessary to
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(a) conduct an inquiry under this Act; or
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(b) establish the grounds for findings and
recommendations contained in the
Commissioner's report.
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| Disclosure in
the course of
proceedings
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(4) The Commissioner may disclose, or
may authorize any person acting on behalf or
under the direction of the Commissioner to
disclose, information in the course of
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(a) a prosecution for an offence under this
Act;
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(b) a prosecution for an offence under
section 131 (perjury) or section 136
(witness giving contradictory evidence) of
the Criminal Code in respect of a statement
made in connection with proceedings under
this Act;
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(c) a hearing before the Court pursuant to
section 11; or
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(d) an appeal from a decision of the Court.
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| Disclosure of
offence
authorized
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(5) The Commissioner may disclose to the
Attorney General of Canada or of a province,
as the case may be, information relating to the
commission of an offence against any law of
Canada or a province on the part of a person
or an officer or employee of a person if, in the
Commissioner's opinion, there is evidence of
an offence.
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| Not
competent
witness
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15. The Commissioner or any person acting
on behalf or under the direction of the
Commissioner is not a competent witness in
respect of any matter that comes to their
knowledge as a result of the performance or
exercise of any of the Commissioner's duties
or powers under this Act in any proceeding
other than
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(a) a prosecution for an offence under this
Act;
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(b) a prosecution for an offence under
section 131 (perjury) or section 136
(witness giving contradictory evidence) of
the Criminal Code in respect of a statement
made in connection with proceedings under
this Act;
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(c) a hearing before the Court; or
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(d) an appeal from a decision of the Court.
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| Protection of
Commissioner
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16. (1) The Commissioner or any person
acting on behalf or under the direction of the
Commissioner is not liable for anything done,
reported or said in good faith as a result of the
performance or exercise or purported
performance or exercise of any duty or power
of the Commissioner under this Act.
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| Libel or
slander
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(2) For the purposes of any law relating to
libel or slander,
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(a) anything said, any information supplied
or any record or thing produced in good
faith in the course of an investigation or
audit carried out by or on behalf of the
Commissioner under this Act is privileged;
and
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(b) any report made in good faith by the
Commissioner under this Act and any fair
and accurate account of the report made in
good faith for the purposes of news
reporting is privileged.
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| Consultation
with
provinces
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17. (1) If the Commissioner considers it
appropriate to do so, or on the request of an
interested person, the Commissioner may, in
order to ensure that health information is
protected in as consistent a manner as
possible, and consult with any officer who,
under provincial legislation that is
substantially similar to this Act, has powers
and duties similar to those of the
Commissioner.
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| Agreements
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(2) The Commissioner may enter into
agreements with any person with whom the
Commissioner may consult under subsection
(1)
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(a) to coordinate the activities of their
offices and the office of the Commissioner,
including to provide for mechanisms for the
handling of any complaint in which they
may be mutually interested;
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(b) to undertake and publish research
related to the protection of health
information; and
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(c) to develop model contracts or
procedures for the protection of health
information that is collected, used or
disclosed interprovincially or
internationally.
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| Promoting the
purposes of
this Act
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18. The Commissioner shall
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(a) develop and conduct information
programs to foster public understanding
and recognition of the purposes of this Act;
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(b) undertake and publish research that is
related to the protection of health
information;
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(c) promote the development of detailed
policies and practices, including
organizational codes of practice, to comply
with the Schedule; and
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(d) promote, by any means that the
Commissioner considers appropriate, the
purposes of this Act.
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| Failure to
comply with
order
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19. (1) Every one who fails to comply with
an order made under section 13 is guilty of
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(a) an offence punishable on summary
conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding
$50,000; or
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(b) an indictable offence and liable to a fine
not exceeding $500,000.
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| Obstruction
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(2) Every one who obstructs the
Commissioner or a person appointed by the
Commissioner to carry out a function related
to this Act or an inquiry under this Act is guilty
of
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(a) an offence punishable on summary
conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding
$10,000; or
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(b) an indictable offence and liable to a fine
not exceeding $100,000.
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| Improper use
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(3) Every one who collects, uses, discloses
or accesses health information for a secondary
purpose and who fails to comply with the
provisions of section 1.6 of the Schedule is
guilty of
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(a) an offence punishable on summary
conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding
$50,000; or
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(b) an indictable offence and liable to a fine
not exceeding $500,000.
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